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Biotodoma Cupido

87K views 248 replies 20 participants last post by  Bd79 
#1 ·
Just looking for some information regarding stocking and male female ratio.
How many in an 80 gallon and what ratio for a perfect colony setup ??

Thanks in advance guys :)
 
#2 ·
I would do a nice group of 6-8 and add a few schooling fish such as rummy nose tetras or columbian tetras. Of about 5-6. Also a 5 corydoras would be good such as the sterbai.
 
#4 ·
hi, that is me here on this forum!!
I put up a utube channel with the videos I took of the spawning process, not great quality, but they show the process
here is the link
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHtQqo5 ... ture=watch
If you have any questions shout away and if I can I will answer them, I agree with the previous poster regarding numbers, they are definitely a fish that should be kept in groups to see the best in them
 
#7 ·
Thanks for replying Joe. I've had 'cupido' several times over the years and never had much success with them. They just didn't seem to be able to compete with other species for food and territoriality (is there such a word?). I think it's the numbers that were the problem. Two or three just wasn't working. But with the kind of information you're providing, I think they will be doable. I'll be picking some up at the first opportunity. Can't wait!! Thanks again.
Jim
 
#8 ·
Ok so Im gonna go with eight then...I currently have 12 columbian tetra , 1 bristlenose and 2 siamese algae eater in the tank.
My ph is around 6.3
I have sand substrate with beechwood branches and my water is clear but tannin stained, I have a load of jungle val growing around edges and some large river rocks...oh and frogbit on top which provides a little shade.
Would maybe like to add some leaf litter ??.....what do you guys reckon
Gonna scrutinise nitrite and ammonia levels also.
 
#9 ·
good choice on the group of 8, if the option is available I would take young fish over adults, I have seen fish about 1.5 - 2inch body size available in the shops, these are this years fry
on the nitrite and ammonia, these should always be zero, keep the nitrate low with water changes and filter resins, in my experience there is nothing that beats regular water changes!
Re the leaves, I like the look of leaves in my tanks, just watch that they do not end up buried in the substrate from the cupidos sifting the sand, though they do not move it anything like some of the other earth eaters like Santoperca or Geophagus species, they are real earth movers!
Good luck with the fish and please post pictures of them once you have them in your tank
joe
 
#11 ·
I would not be too concerned regarding the ratio of the sexes, if you buy young fish it would be next to impossible to sex them with certainty, bar venting them, my group of 15 consists of 6 males and 9 females, (I had 16 but I lost one fish a month or two back, it got spooked and jumped from the tank) :(
I have not noted any bullying or bashing in the group, males and females, they all get along fine living as a loose group, you will see the occasional facing off between fish, but never any harm done, having a decent sized group also probably helps disperse any potential for one individual fish to be the whipping post of the others.
When it comes to spawning and two fish pair up they defend their territory firmly, but I have never really noticed another cupido try to invade it, they seem to know the boundaries,... unlike us humans!
 
#12 ·
Hey Joe....can you give me any pointers about water temp, spawning sites , plants...etc
There aint alot of people that have succesfully spawned these little guys so seems like your the guy with the blueprint :)

Oh and I was gonna throw in a little male bristlenose alongside my female but could this cause the biotodoma concern??
Am I right in saying you had some angels in with them also??....how did that work??
 
#13 ·
Infact ignore my further questiong....got all my answers from your youtube videos Joe :)
Thanks again ...invaluable info and thanks to moderator notho2000 for the heads up :)

Just finishing a hardwood stand *** been building to house both my 80 gallon and another two additional tanks ..(17 inch cube and 20 gallon long)...all going well shall be used exclusively for breeding , fry etc ^^
Yeah, I am extremely optimistic :)
This is gonna be an exciting journey :)
 
#14 ·
Don't forget to post pictures!!!
on another note, I notice you are in Scotland, not a million miles away from west Cork in Ireland, if by any chance you have difficulty getting good fish and happen to know someone coming this way let me know (e.g. trucker) and I have some young available I will give you a group.
I will take a quick video this evening of the tank as it is now to give you an idea of how the fish look now and what else is in the tank.
 
#16 ·
Hope Im not jumping the gun but I just watched the video you posted Joe.....very impressed and quite surprised by the size of some of those cupidos and there are so many :)
The more I see of them just makes me more enthusiastic about the whole thing, I notice how nicely balanced you have shade and light in the tank....could be vitally important at keeping the little guys relaxed :)
Gives me alot to think about .
Thanks again, very much appreciated :)
 
#18 ·
Just to update this, I have been so busy building a new stand for my 80 gallon and it took way longer to get everything in place. Lost a load of plant growth to the switch but they will come back ofc....had to prune everything right down. So yeah Im pretty much ready to go with the biotodoma. Im gonna really encourage the frogbit for shade and probably black out much of my lid to allow more areas of shade (joes tank has excellent use of light and dark ). My tank is all DIY as is my stand, my lid is a peice of custom cut polycarbonate....which works well but really allows the light to blast into the tank, could be too much for the biotodoma.

Need to add a few more round stones (ill put a few in where I manage to create shade..........its all a bit too bright atm) :)
What temp did you recommend Joe...I currently keep temp at 26.
Here is my tank and new stand...all DIY job....but yeah I am concerned by the lack of natural feel to my tank...probably some leaf litter and maybe some moss around the place could calm it down a little.....the jungle val and frogbit will provide nice shade once it grows back...wont take long...what ya reckon Joe??..........Im open to any advice or pointers.


Yeah and I have the 17 inch cube to the left also for emergencies/fry
**gotta be optimistic** :)
 
#22 ·
hi, sounds like you have water to suit these fish, i am typing from one of thosse little smart phones and cannot see the images you have postes, so i will reply in full lter to whTever questions you asked.... ps sorry for the bad spelling...my fingers are just too chubby for the keys on the sxreen!
 
#23 ·
Hi, nice job on the stand, colour coordinating bases etc . puts my Frankenstein setups to shame (well that's what my family call my tanks!)
temp in my cupido tank is around 25, it goes up or down a degree at different times of the year
my tank looks darker, with lots of shade due to the poor lighting I use and the fact that I have a home made background that I built into the tank, I built it like a riverbank, curved outwards towards the surface, like an overhang. It was built using polystyrene, cut and melted to shape, then painted with epoxy resin and coated with layers of different sands, grit and peat, it gives the tank a shaded dark effect, and now as it ages and gets coated with algae it looks very natural.
you can darken the tank a bit by adding black card or similar to the back and sides and maybe laying some black card on sections of the glass covers, that should give you the dappled shade you seem to be looking for, just moving it about till you get the look you want.
more boulders and chunks of roots will help with breaking up the open tank look and should help the fish settle and feel more confident, I have found though hat the F1 cupido in the tank have much less fear and shyness, and are less likely to bolt if startled.
thanks for posting the pictures and the update, always good to see how things are progressing
joe
 
#24 ·
Ill mess around with different ideas to achieve more shade........the frogbit used to carpet the entire surface which really worked well, it shouldn't be long in growing back. With regards feeding Im going to start my own cultivation of tubifex worms as I have read great things about the nutrition from them and the encouragement to spawn this can have on the fish. Anyways, thanks again Joe, Ill update this once I have something worthwhile to show ya mate :)
 
#25 ·
Update on this, completely reworked aquascape ......Ill post tomorrow......got it really nice for the biotodoma ..plenty of territories, shaded (potential spawning areas)....really happy. Anyway I started thinking that maybe 8 would be too much for my tank so I have 5 coming on Tuesday morning...2 male 3 female. Ill add to the colony next month once I gauge my stocking.
Ill post tomorrow :)
 
#26 ·
So below is setup which I reckon should give the little fish a nice array of territories and round the back of the large rocks is a nice shaded and hidden potential spawning area out the way. Not sure whether I should have gotten the 8 like I said but I am aware that alot of folks are quite surprised by size and thickness of these fish once mature so we will see how it goes.
I have flake, catfish/algae pellets and a little tubifex culture kit coming so I have a constant supply of live food, I like the earthworm idea Joe but dont have any grass/soil in my garden ;)

Ill post a picture of them once they have settled in......the fish are a good 3" and Ill have 2 males, 3 females.

 
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